Hey, this is Scott of Photography Banzai.
Today we're gonna talk about all the different types of
screens on cameras. At least the ones that I know about... And say why each one
is good and bad.
The most common design is that standard
flip screen. Around 90 degrees upwards. Maybe 90 degrees or 45 degrees downwards.
Works really well for photographers that do landscape photography. Or any type of
work where you're holding the camera above you or below you so you can still see
the screen, at least a little bit. Pretty common design. As I said, but it works
relatively well for a decent amount of photographers. Now, it's not really great
for some video situations. But it does also work pretty well with some video
work. I had a Nikon D750. It had that standard flip screen, and I used it a lot
with my hands-on videos at the camera shop. Where I had a little tripod. Flip
the screen up about 45 degrees, and that worked really well.
A step up from that is
the 3-way tilt screen. We see that on cameras like the Fujifilm X-T3, which is
a relatively new camera at the moment. You've got the standard tilt upwards and
downwards, but then it has another hinge on there to tilt for portrait mode. But
only one direction.
Another modification to the standard flip screen design is
the one that goes 180 degrees forward. Basically a full selfie screen. The Sony
A6400 that was announced recently as of this video, has that type of screen.
Now, there are some drawbacks of course. Especially with that design. Now, that's
good for a photography if you want to do like straight-up selfie photos. But with
video you have the issue of... If you want to use a microphone, the screen will be
blocked by the hotshoe. So there are ways to get around it, of course. Jason Vong
had a video on that where he has a bracket. The microphones on the side of
the camera. That works relatively well but you just need a little bit more gear
in that case. Another similar design, but relatively simple is the flip up screen.
In this case I have the Canon M100. Has a single hinge. It flips up. Relatively
simple design. There's not much to go wrong in this case... works... It's got that
vlogging selfie type of situation. But then with this specific camera there's
no mic port. There's no hotshoe, so it doesn't have that issue
because it just simply doesn't have that functionality in the camera. Actually use
this camera quite a bit for b-roll type filming of myself. I have it on a tripod.
I flip up the screen, and I face my.. face it towards me as I'm taking photos of
something. Basically, types of footage where I'm not talking to the camera, but
I'm filming myself. That works really well in that situation. Pretty simple
design. It actually does work for photos, easily. Because you can put it on a
tripod again and you'll be able to adjust the screen upwards. Now, I have
actually uses camera upside down like this. So I can still see the screen and
hold it above my head in those situations. Of course, everything's kind
of weird because you're looking at it like that, but it does actually work.
The weirdo of screen designs...
The flip down screen. Ahh, if you are going to do some type
of vlogging. And actually the Canon EOS M5 has that flipped down screen. The
Olympus, let's see, it's called the E-PL7. It also has that type of screen. Where you can
hold the camera... You don't use any type of tripod. Hold it out, and use it in
those situations when you're filming yourself. But, now, I have seen some videos
where they take a little bracket and they move the tripod over, so that you
can still pull the screen down and also get a tripod connection.
Another unusual design, I'm gonna mention it...
The Pentax K-1 has a flexi-flex screen I'm not
really sure what it's actually called. But it has four different metal hinges
in the back. It gives you a lot of articulation. It gives you vertical, but
it's a very intense design with... not really a big difference over say the
3-way tilt screens that the X-T3 has, and all that. Again, I've used the K-1
one maybe two times for a few minutes. And it's it's an unusual design, but
Maybe people who have used that camera more can really say if it's good or
bad. But it's it exists.
Last but not least the fully articulating screen.
In this case I have the Canon EOS M50. Pretty standard
fully articulating "vari-angle" screen. You've got the adjustment here. You have
it able to just here. So a lot of options with the screen. Now, it's not perfect.
Even in vlogging situations where it's a good use case the issue at least with me
is that I have to really force myself... train myself... to look at the lens instead
of the screen. When you have it out like this... Even in my last video, I was looking
at the screen some of the time. So it's not ideal. You probably want to push it
back once you start recording which kind of defeats the need for this. Once you're
recording you're basically relying on autofocus in
that case. So it is not a hundred percent need with vlogging. But it is nice to
have. And even in photo situations you've got all of the articulation that you
would want most likely. You can do any type of portrait orientation. Any type of
landscape orientation that you would want. And it's got that. You can put it
backwards. Face the camera itself. In this case with the M50 it will turn on the
EVF automatically. Even if you have the settings to only the back screen, which
is really convenient. If you want that straight up camera. You know, standard
camera without any type of screen. Just got the EVF, so... That is really convenient.
But I think it is one of the best designs out there at the moment.
It isn't perfect. You have some more potential of
having it damaged because it's out away from the Camera.
In a photography situation it is slower than the standard screens.
So that's probably one of the biggest negatives for straight photographers is
that they have to spend the time to mess around with the screen. Pull it out and
whatever else. But overall I think it's a good design and probably one of the
better ones out there. Maybe not so much for the photographers. So...
With the photographers there are definitely a lot of Youtubers. People
that make videos about gear on YouTube. They're very focused on video work,
because of what they do. That's what I do a lot of is make videos. So screens like
this are very helpful for our work, but it's not really considering the
straight-up photographer. Because I think some standard flip screens are better
for photographers in many situations. But it's just things to consider. Trying to
be considerate to straight up photographers when suggesting gear.
And like I said, straight up flip screens are more convenient for landscape
photographers. Maybe not so much the portrait ones except for the X-T3 type of
screen. But things to think about. There are a lot of different designs. Really
look at the design and see what type of photography or videography you do, and
see if it works best for your situations. So that's about it about this big talk
with screens. There's a lot to it. A lot of designs. Again, I hope you enjoyed this
video. I'm Scott from Photography Banzai. Thanks!